Carpetright posts drop in sales, profits in H1

Europe’s carpet and floor coverings retailer Carpetright posted fall in sales and profits for the 26-week trading period ended 26 October 2013, due to tough and challenging period.

The chain's profit attributable to owners of the parent was £1.9m, compared to a loss of £6.4m in the previous year.

Revenue for the interim period slipped to £222.2m, from last year's £227.2m.

Total group sales decreased by 2.2% to £222.2m, with the UK business down by 2.2%. A decline of 2.4% was registered in the rest of Europe.

Profit before tax for the period was £1.9m, compared to pre-tax loss of £7.9m in the prior year period. Underlying profit before tax fell to £3m from £4.5m in the prior year.

Underlying profit attributable to owners of the parent declined to £2.2m from last year's £2.6m.

During the half year, the group opened seven stores and closed 11, which gave a net decrease of four stores, resulting in a store base of 616.

Commenting on the results, Carpetright executive chairman Lord Harris said against a backdrop of volatile trading conditions, the company's first half performance reflects an improvement in profits in the UK, driven by the continued success of the company's self-help initiatives.

"While we anticipate trading conditions will remain challenging, we expect these self-help initiatives will underpin an improvement in Group performance in the second half and our expectations for the year as a whole remain unchanged," Harris added.

Geographically, the company operates in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Republic of Ireland (ROI). The product portfolio of the company includes a broad range of rugs, vinyls, carpets, doormats, laminates and related accessories.

Image: Carpet Right store in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Photo: Courtesy of Ardfern.